Age-related macular degeneration is associated with an unstable ARMS2 (LOC387715) mRNA

Autor: Sheila A. Fisher, Andreas Janssen, Lars G. Fritsche, Thomas Loenhardt, Andrea Rivera, Bernhard H. F. Weber, Claudia N. Keilhauer
Rok vydání: 2008
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nature Genetics. 40:892-896
ISSN: 1546-1718
1061-4036
DOI: 10.1038/ng.170
Popis: Bernhard Weber and colleagues identify a previously unknown insertion-deletion polymorphism in ARMS2 (LOC387715), a gene associated with age-related macular degeneration. The variant leads to rapid mRNA turnover of the ARMS2 transcript, suggesting a role for this gene in AMD. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a prevalent multifactorial disorder of the central retina1,2,3. Genetic variants at two chromosomal loci, 1q31 and 10q26, confer major disease risks, together accounting for more than 50% of AMD pathology4,5,6,7,8,9. Signals at 10q26 center over two nearby genes, ARMS2 (age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2, also known as LOC387715)8,9 and HTRA1 (high-temperature requirement factor A1)10,11, suggesting two equally probable candidates. Here we show that a deletion-insertion polymorphism in ARMS2 (NM_001099667.1:c.*372_815del443ins54) is strongly associated with AMD, directly affecting the transcript by removing the polyadenylation signal and inserting a 54-bp element known to mediate rapid mRNA turnover. As a consequence, expression of ARMS2 in homozygous carriers of the indel variant is not detectable. Confirming previous findings12, we demonstrate a mitochondrial association of the normal protein and further define its retinal localization to the ellipsoid region of the photoreceptors. Our data suggest that ARMS2 has a key role in AMD, possibly through mitochondria-related pathways.
Databáze: OpenAIRE